Shimura Tae
}} Shimura Tae (志村 妙 Shimura Tae), or just Otae (お妙) (the "お" (O) is an honorific used to refer to women), is the older sister of Shimura Shinpachi. The Shinsengumi have almost accepted her as the de facto lady boss, or rather the consort of their boss Kondou Isao, by calling her ne-e-san (姐さん). She works at Snack Smile as a cabaret hostess to keep the family doujo Koudoukan going (though more often than not, she behaves more like a bouncer). In addition she is the leader and one of the original members of the Diamond Perfume. She also became a member of the 4 Devas of Kabuki District after Otose's, Doromizu Jirochou's and Saigou Tokumori's retirement and Kujaku Hime Kada's seizure. As an official Deva, Tae is known as the "Kabukichō﻿ no Joō" (Translated: The Queen of the Kabuki District). Background Shimura Tae grew up with her brother Shimura Shinpachi and his father in their family dojou Koudoukan. Their father died when they were still young, leaving them to take care of the dojou, and also to be left in debt. Tae still wants to revive her father's dojo, as she believes that a child does not need a reason to protect what its parents once loved. To revive the dojo, Tae works in a Hostess Club as a Cabaret Hostess. Though she sometimes even physically abuses rude customers, she became the "main attraction" of the Hostess Club she works at. The customer Tae abuses the most is Kondo Isao. He fell in love with Tae when he was served by her in the Hostess Club and started stalking her since then. Tae strongly disapproves of his stalking activities and constantly beats him up, as he even hides in her house and follows her wherever she goes while trying to make her go out with him. Though Tae is annoyed by that, by now, Isao is an important part of her life, as he often risks his own life to protect Tae and prevent her from suffering. When Otae was younger, she beat up the bullies who made fun of Yagyuu Kyuubei. From that moment on, Otae and Kyuubei were close childhood friends. Kyuubei greatly admired Tae because she was strong and carried even the heaviest burdens with a smile on her face. When Kyuubei saved Tae from her debt-collector's abuse and lost her eye in the process, Tae promised Kyuubei to marry her and become her new left eye. Appearance She is a beautiful young woman with brown hair tied back in a ponytail and brown eyes. Her beauty attracts numerous men, which makes her the main attraction of the famous cabaret club Snack Smile. It also causes opponents to heavily underestimate Tae's combat skills and cruelty, thus causing opponents like the Dobunezumi Group to gang up on Tae and get brutally cut up by her in the process. (Quote from Otohime about Tae's appearance) "She's beautiful! U- Unbelievable! This beauty radiating as I hit her is just like the beauty of rose petals scattering!" She wears a pink yukata with red flowers on it. She once admitted in her own words that she is 'flat chested'.Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 1, Lesson 1, p. 41. She can also be very violent, and her weapon of choice seems to be her fists and a naginata. She mostly puts a fake smile on, though despite that, her appearance can be very terrifying. When talking to others or covering her own sadness, Tae puts on a beautiful fake smile that leaves a gentle impression. However, just like Kamui, Tae's fake smile leaves a very terrifying impression when she is about to seriously injure someone. Tae.jpg|Otae Standard Otae Chibi.png|Otae Standard Chibi Young tae.png|Otae in her childhood with Kyuubei Capture.PNG|Otae in Yorozuya The Final Chapter : Be Forever Yorozuya Otae in winter wear.png|Otae in winter garbs Otae old.png|Old Otae Otsm.png|Otae's sadistic fake smile tumblr_m1jtyybUfp1qjdxroo1_1280.png|Otae's sadistic side Gintama_77_Large-41.png|Otae's true colors tumblr_mq8wr76F9A1sabie4o2_1280.png|Otae in rage Gintama Episode 18.png|Hijikata, Sougo, Otae, Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura are in a stakeout for catch a Underwear Thief in Episode 18 Gintama Episode 19.png|Gintoki, Shinpachi, Otae, Kagura, Sadaharu and Hasegawa going to the beach in Episode 18 GintamaEM83A.png|Otae is the only one not sick in Episode 83 Fat Otae.png|Fat Otae in Episode 91 11586087ta.png|Otae without ponytail Otae as a stand.png|Otae as a stand Gintama165-09.jpg|Otae affected by flu outbreak in Episode 165 SwimSuit.png|Otae in her swimsuit in Episode 217 tumblr_lxjkr3hPBG1qhyte9o1_500.gif|Otae as a Takamagahara employee in Episode 241 Tanned otae.jpg|Tanned Otae in Episode 264 Otae Real Smile.jpg|Otae's real smile in Episode 264 Otae and Kyuubei Episode 277.png|Otae and Kyuubei watch together the movie in Episode 277 Otae and Kondou Episode 285.png|Kondo gives Otae a yukata in Episode 285 Otae Episode 285.png|Otae in Kimono in Episode 285 Otae Episode 289.jpg|Otae wearing Shipachi's glasses in Episode 289 Otae Episode 297.jpg|Otae in funeral clothes on Kagura's funeral in Episode 231 Otae Episode 316.jpg|Otae smile in Episode 316 Personality She is very egotistical about her own good qualities, but very insecure about her bad qualities too. Though outwardly appearing sweet and good-natured, in reality she has a quick temper and a violent disposition, in particular towards 'gorilla-like stalkers'. Since their mother died in a young age, Tae always took care of her little brother Shinpachi and protected him. She is a very brave and strong woman who always cares more about her family and closest friends than even about herself- very similar to Gintoki. She always tries to look strong and happy, thus she always smiles, even if she's hurt or feels sad. (Quote from Shimura Shinpachi about Tae's personality) "You're so unfair, Sis... Smiling brightly every single day, but you never show your true feelings in the slighest. Even if you're hurt or want to cry, you're forcing yourself to smile. Always without saying anything to anyone. You bear the burden alone, you decide alone and you end up smiling alone." Her speech manners are totally unlady-like, peppered with vulgar descriptions, especially of human genitalia, frequently prompting Shinpachi to scold her saying that 'girls should not speak like that'. She is also very rough, as she is very often seen scolding her stalker, Gintoki and even her own brother in a very harsh manner. She generally acts sweet and kind, but she gets angry so easily and she has a very violent personality. (She can defined as a mild yangire) She loves the expensive brand of ice cream called Bargain Dash (破亜限堕取（バーゲンダッシュ)), a parody of the Häagen-Dazs ice cream in real world, and her most famous cuisine specialty is aka fried egg (卵焼き tamago yaki), but labelled as 'Dark Matter' or even 'Pitiful egg' by Gintoki and others. This dish has caused the following side effects when eaten: caused Shinpachi's eyesight to deteriorate over long periods of consumption, thereby he needed eye glasses, aggravated Gintoki's amnesia, Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 7, Lesson 50, p. 23. made Kondou Isao lose his memory Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 7, Lesson 50, p. 23., and caused Yagyuu Binboksai to have diarrhea Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 14, Lesson 117, p. 13. When not eaten, it can be used as a ballistic missile, as seen when they went up against the Tagosaku-possessed Oiwa which she said "burned" in the Onsen Chapter. In fact, literally everything Shimura Tae touches will come out burnt, even sushi (which does not require fire to make). Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. Shueisha, Vol. 22, Lesson 187, p. 9. Strangely enough, the konjac jelly she made for her younger brother in Episode 126 (of the Pen-pal Chapter) came out properly as konjac jelly. However, this can not be considered canon as she was not seen actually making it in the manga, and the scene with her talking to Kagura afterwards was a filler. She was revealed to be a die-hard fan of B'z band as she sang the chorus of Taiyoh no Komachi Angel while facing a sunset, thinking she was all alone, before Shinpachi, Hasegawa and Gintoki came along.Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 20, Lesson 175, p. 9. Ironically, she has a constant fear of monsters, as seen during the Test of Courage in Episode 68 when she and Oryou entered the Test booth. When she's scared, her fear turns into anger, thus it caused her to go berserk, destroy the skeleton model, make Oryou vomit blood (due to her German Suplex Hold) and smack up Ochi-san in the process, only proving to the others that she was the only scary monster around. Strength & Abilities Tae inherited a dojo together with his younger brother Shimura Shinpachi called Koudoukan (恒道館), specialising in the Tendoumushin sword-fighting style (天堂無心流, Tendou Mushin Ryuu). She is an experienced combatant, allowing her to determine skill upon sight, like that of Kondou long before the two associated. Tae specializes in the use of a Naginata, even to the point where she is capable of "one-arm swinging" and performing devastating cuts. Other than that, Tae is also seen to be a very capable hand-to-hand combatant when unarmed, having the ability to take out Otohime's soldiers with a single punch, or send several people flying at once during the Love Potion arc, giving her a brutish reputation that existed even in her early years. Known to be Tae's brother, Shinpachi was rarely the victim of bullies during his childhood. This protective treatment was also given to Kyuubei at that time, whose bullies were victims to Tae's protective nature on a regular basis. Her hand-to-hand combat capabilities are equally matched by her impressive physical strength in walloping other people. She was able to give Kondou Isao a concussion using a mere pico-pico hammer (an inflated squeaky toy hammer) even though he was already wearing a safety helmet. Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 3, Lesson 17, p. 13. Her display of physical strength also included being able to punch holes in a wall without any effort, as well as creating a whole crater with a mere drop kick during the Ryugujo Arc. However, unlike other characters, Tae is rarely involved in actual combat. Hijikata Toushirou and Sarutobi Ayame were the only major characters Tae faced in combat as of yet. Mostly her display of combat is limited to physical abuse against her friends, specifically Konodu. Other than Kondou Isao, Sakata Gintoki is also frequently on the receiving end of her rough treatment. List of Victims Thus far, Katsura Kotarou, Yagyuu Kyuubei, Tsukuyo and Kagura seems to be the only main characters acquainted with Tae not to have been roughed up by her. Her list of 'victims' include the following characters: Cooking Funnily enough, her horrible cooking, which is mostly described as "dark matter", is also considered a deadly weapon. She can form dark matter out of any kind of food using only her hands. Even Hiraga Gengai was not able to identify her food and assumed that it is an unknown poisonous matter from outer space. The dark matter can instanly poison the person who eats it and leave permanent effects,the effects are so powerful that even cyborgs like Obi Hajime have remove the matter to be cured. When it comes in touch with someone's skin, it can lead to severe burns. Though it should be noted that Tae does not use her bad cooking in actual combat. Relationships Family *'Shimura Shinpachi': Tae's younger brother, who she can be overly protective of. Since the death of her parents, Tae has taken over the responsibility to teach and parent her little brother, willing to exceed any emotional limit. As stated by Yagyuu Kyuubei, it gets to the point where Tae feels forced to use a fake smile regardless of how painful any situation is, simply to comfort her brother. However, despite of how overprotective Tae is, Shinpachi is often on the receiving end of her very rough treatment, equally to those abusing Shinpachi. People tricking or hurting Shinpachi are usually common victims of Tae's abuse. This goes back to even their childhood, as Shinpachi was very often spared from bullying due to the childrens' fear of his sister. Her protective instinct doesn't even stop at larger threats, such as the giant bear causing even the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi to flee, who was taken out by Tae upon his supposed attempt to attack her brother. *'Shimura Ken': Tae's father, who left his beloved dōjō to her when he passed away. Even though the dōjō and the debts connected to it merely caused Tae to suffer consistently, she attempted to to revive it and eventually succeeded, due to her strong belief that protecting what's dear to a parent is a child's utmost duty. During his lifetime, Ken often physcially abused Tae for misbehaving, treating both his children very roughly. Friends & Allies *'Kagura': Kagura sees Tae as her sister and she addresses her in the very respectful term of elder sister (姐御 ane-go). Tae acts like an older sister to her, like to Shinpachi. Kagura looks up to Tae and wants to be like her. Therefore Kagura often acts just like her when Tae is about to hurt someone. *'Oryou': Oryou is Tae's co-worker and friend from Snack Smile. The two are frequently seen together at work. She helped Tae in the competition with Ane and was also with her during the Test of Courage/Horror House (though she nearly got strangled to death by the frightened Tae in the process). Tae helped her out when she was in need, though she always made it clear that she is not going to lend any money to Oryou. *'Tsukuyo:' When Tae first heard about Tsukuyo, she intended to eliminate her, as she had a higher rank than her during the Character Poll Arc. However, Tsukuyo joined the Diamond Perfume at some point and became friends with Tae since then. *'Sarutobi Ayame': Sa-chan considers Tae her love rival, as she assumes that Tae has romantic feelings for Gintoki and ]]because Gintoki deeply cares about Tae while he constantly rejects Sa-chan. She often picks a fight with Tae and they both were often enough about to cut loose and fight each other with all they've got. Nevertheless, Sa-chan considers Tae a friend. When Tae was about to die in the movie, Stay Forever Yorozuya, Sa-chan cried and angrily shook her, telling her that she wouldn't allow her to die until Tae hasn't seen her and Gintoki finally becoming a couple and get married. *'Tokugawa Shige Shige': Sometimes slipped her vulgarity towards him, not only he has an inner perversion, although she did respect him as a great leader, even after his death when Nobu Nobu took over Bakufu in his tyranical reign. *'Okita Sougo': ]] As a fellow sadistic psychos, Sougo is far more respecting her nicely without doing any stupid manners on her, he and Hijikata witness how dangerous Shinpachi's sister is when their leader, Kondo never knows how to quit stalking her but ended up beaten by her badly. Love Interest *'Yagyuu Kyuubei': Years later, Otae became Kyuubei's fiancee at of obligation to what happened to her eye. Although Shinpachi and the rest stopped her from going through with the marriage, she still remains in friendly ties with Kyuubei afterwards.Sorachi Hideaki. Gintama. VIZ media, Vol. 15, Lesson 123, p. 4. Kyuubei is with Tae all the time and is barely seen without her. Although to Tae, Kyuubei is just her precious friend, Kyuubei's feelings for Tae haven't changed at all, meaning that she still loves Tae. Kyuubei protects her with her life and doesn't tolerate anyone who tries to harm Tae in any way. She does her best to give Tae a reason to smile, though she wishes to become that reason herself. Nevertheless, Kyuubei is also happy if Tae's smile is not even directed at her. During the Character Poll Arc, Kyuubei even wanted to go as far as to eliminate everyone who was ranked higher than Tae, including herself, meaning that Kyuubei planned to commit suicide after eliminating the others to make Tae rank first. During the Beam Sword Style Arc, Kyuubei was also about to commit seppuku, as she couldn't forgive herself for trying to kill Tae's first love and almost caused Tae to suffer. *'Sakata Gintoki': People often think they are a couple. When she first met Gintoki, she tried to make him commit seppuku, as he had caused her brother to get fired. Although they generally argue about everything with Gintoki making snide comments about her and Tae physically abusing him, they share a close bond. When he saved her, she started admiring his soul and skill as a samurai, which she felt was a great example for her brother. It is also hinted that Gintoki makes her smile everyday she see him around Shinpachi and Kagura from the day she was saved. There are, however subtle hints that Tae has romantic feelings for Gintoki, such as when Gintoki's memory were lost. He had become significantly more serious and Tae kept insisting that he didn't forget her. When he apologised, she tried to knock him on the head to make him remember but Gintoki touching her hand and apologising caused her to blush. She complimented him about his eyes and suggested that he stayed amnesiac as she preferred this version of Gintoki, causing Shinpachi to complain that she had fallen for him. He is the only person she trusts and can discuss her brother's problems with. It is hinted that she considers Gintoki along with Shinpachi and Kagura as her family. Tae really trusts him and Gintoki really cares about her. She also takes care of him when he is sick or wounded and supports him in crises and fights. They support and protect each other and play a major role in Shinpachi's life. According to Shinpachi's metaphor, Gintoki is the one running forward to lead Shinpachi through the darkness while Tae runs behind Shinpachi to kick him along. *'Obi Hajime': He was the former chief coach of the Koudoukan. He was like an older brother to Shinpachi and Otae. He supposedly died before Shinpachi met Gintoki, but was later revealed to have survived the explosion that supposedly killed him. He's noted to be Otae's first love by Shinpachi. Obi is one of the biggest influences in her life. as he taught her to smile in any kind of situation, as well as being her tutor when she was younger. Although Tae carried almost every burden with a fake smile on her face, she couldn't help but cry when Obi finally died. *'Kondou Isao': Kondou is obsessively in love with Tae. He always stalks her and he always get beaten by her really violently. He is also very possessive about Tae and jealous of Gintoki and Kyuubei for being close to her constantly. Otae is very disturbed of his harassment and treats him really bad. But despite hating him for being a perverted stalker, she ruined the ceremony to save him when he was forced to marry the Gorilla Princess. But mostly she just beats him up and treats him badly. In "The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya, Tae even went as far as to kill Kondou after he tried to kiss her right before the alternative future was erased. Kondou's feelings for Tae on the other hand know no boundaries. He tries his best to protect Tae and give her a reason to smile along with Yagyuu Kyuubei since the day he fell in love with her. After Shige Shige died, when Shinsengumi disbanded whereas Kondo and Matsudaira are about to be executed during Nobu Nobu's reign, Otae's feeling for Kondo begans softer. After he, Katsura and Matsudaira are safe, but lost one of their important allies, Sasaki Isaburo, and before leaving Edo, as a suggestion from Katsura for their safety to enact their plan to bring a sudden return of corrupted Bakufu and Tendoshu to justice, Tae and Shinpachi wishes Kondo both good luck and survive, and promises him to return as a normal person, as Kondo accept their promises. Enemies *'Eromes': Tae hates her for having a cat appearance and for pushing Shinpachi's love illusions to far to be true. When Eromes stole money from Shinpachi, Tae and Kagura finally decided to crush her. *'Otohime': Tae considered Otohime's heart "laughably wretched" and was convinced that no matter how much effort she put into being beautiful, she would remain ugly, because she didn't know that real beauty is. Otohime ordered her subordinates to kill her for being more beautiful than her and insulting her, which has caused Tae to attack her and her subordinates. When Otohime finally realized that Tae's words were true and had a change of heart, Tae, Yagyuu Kyuubei, Hasegawa Taizou and the Yorozuya saved her from being crushed when her palace collapsed. *'Ane': As they are both the most profit-making Cabaret Hostesses, Tae and Ane are competitors. When one of them had to be fired, Tae ruthlessly tricked Ane to get rid of her, despite knowing that Ane seriously needed the money. Neither of them was fired, though. In Episode 264 it was stated that Tae is the main attraction of the Hostess Club she works at, meaning that Tae is in fact the best Cabaret Hostess, though Ane is more popular among Matsudaira Katakuriko, who always spends a lot of money when visiting the Hostess Club and is one of the most important regulars due to his high position. Though while the Shogun, who is by far the most important guest, preferred Tae's services, he is not a regular in the Hostess Club. *'Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu': After witnessing Nobu Nobu's tyrannical nature as he murdered her colleagues for no reason, she was the first person to have the courage to oppose him and his rule. Story Tae was born and raised in her father's dōjō, where she learned how to use weapons at a very young age. Both her parents died during her childhood. Her mother died very soon after Shinpachi's birth and her father died only a few years later. Her role model was the head coach of her father's dōjō Obi Hajime, who was also her first love. He died during an explosion in the Edo Terminal. With both her first love and her parents dead, Tae was left alone with her little brother, her father's dōjō and his debts. Though the dōjō caused her to suffer constantly, she didn't even consider selling it. Thus she constantly had problems with debt collectors, who even physically abused her brother. Her childhood friend Yagyuu Kyuubei tried to save her from the debt collectors and lost her eye in the process, causing Tae to feel guilty and promise her to make up for it one day. She tries to revive her family dojo that her and Shinpachi's father left them after his death by doing whatever it takes such as working at a Hostess Club, though by now she really enjoys being a cabaret girl and is very popular among her guests, due to being the main attraction of Club Smile. (Though, she was forced to spend their money first in fortifying their house to keep off annoying gorilla like stalkers i.e. Kondou) In order to be able to pay the debts, Tae was at some point even ready to sell her own body and perform in slutty outfits. However, it did not come to this, as Sakata Gintoki, who she met at that point, prevented her from having to go this far. Gintoki soon became a very close friend of Tae and by now plays a major role in her life. One of Tae's guests in the Hostess Club was the leader of the Shinsengumu Kondo Isao, who instantly fell in love with her. He stalks her constantly since the day they met, though Tae doesn't feel the same way about him and very often beats him up. Nevertheless he also became an important part of her life. Memory Loss Arc When Tae realized that Gintoki lost his memories, Tae intended to beat Gintoki up with a hammer until he rememberes her. When Gintoki stopped her and grabbed her arm with his new charming demeanor, Tae started to develop romantic feelings for the new Gintoki. When Gintoki finally started to remember who he was again, Tae fed him her Tamagoyaki to help him remember who he was. However, her horrible cooking only caused Gintoki to faint and lose his memory all over again. Infant Strife Arc Tae got angry and battled Sarutobi Ayame after being accused of having a child together with Sakata Gintoki. As soon as Tae interrupted the fight by blocking Sa-chan's attack and holding her arms in place, she noticed that Gintoki and his supposed child were trying to slowly crawl away, casuing Tae to throw them into a river. Train Samurai Arc Tae mistrusted her brother's new girlfriend Eromes from the very start and teamed up with Kagura to follow her and Shinpachi around to observe them. Her pretended cute behaviour made Tae and Kagura rage, causing them to beat up Gintoki before losing themselves. When Eromes finally revealed her true colors and turned out to be a professional thief who tricked Shinpachi, Tae and Kagura finally saw their opportunity to put Eromes in her place and almost killed her. Benizakura Arc Tae complied with Shimura Shinpachi's request and took care of the severely injured Sakata Gintoki. While knowing about Sakata Gintoki's plan to get rid of her in order to help Murata Tetsuko, Tae pretended to buy Sakata Gintoki a Jump-magazine. Instead she brought him his clothes and her umbrella in order to give him the opportunity to help Murata Tetsuko. Yagyu Arc Tae was taken away by her childhood friend Yagyuu Kyuubei, who sacraficed her left eye for Tae's sake back then when they were children. Kyuubei intended to marry her, and as Tae felt guilty about what happened to her eye, she agreed to leave her family and friends to marry Kyuubei. Shimura Shinpachi decided to face the Yagyuu family and save her sister from the marriage. Sakata Gintoki and Kagura, who couldn't bare the thought of Tae suffering either, joined him. So did the top three Shinsengumi, as Isao Kondou refused to let her engulf herslelf in misery for the sake of her family. The Yagyuu family decided to have a battle with the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi to decide whether they'll free Tae or not. While the fight already started, Shinpachi finally found Tae, who had no intention of leaving the Yagyuu family. After hitting Shinpachi and telling him that she never asked for help, she finally revealed her reason for agreeing to the marriage. After Kyuubei then told Shinpachi that Kyuubei lost her left eye while protecting Tae, it came to a final battle between the four remaining participants of the battle Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kyuubei and Yagyuu Binbokusai, which made Tae realized that she wants to go back to her friends. After Kyuubei's defeat, Tae went over to her to hold her precious childhood friend in her arms. Later on Tae wished to make up for making her friends worry about her and therefore saved Kondou from the wedding with the Gorilla Princess by kicking her in the face, screaming "You bitch! What do you think you're doing with my m-...". Owee Arc Tae threatened Kondo Isao to get her and the other cabaret girls an Owee, causing him, Okita Sougo, Hijikata Toushirou and Yamazaki Sagaru to fight the Yorozuya over the Owees. Ryugujo Arc Otae and Kyubei have saved his daughter from some punks, so he wanted to take them to Ryugu Palace. On their way, they saw Yorozuya and got lost on an island. On the island, Hasegawa, Gintoki and Shinpachi saw Otae singing B’z’s Taiyo no Komachi Angel, and she got emberassed when she saw them. They tried to make her feel better and found Kyubei on their way. She drew an ice cream, but the waves erased half of it and made it look like poop, and she used her body as a wall to protect it from the waves. After she saw them, she got emberassed and Otae tried make her feel better. They found Kagura, stating that Laputa must definitely be on that huge cloud. She also felt very bad when she saw them and Otae tried to make her feel better with Kyubei. At last, they saw Katsura. He was drawing an SOS with his piss and was singing Taiyo no Komachi Angel. He saw a giant cloud and stated that Takizawa Crystal must be there and ran out of piss. He also protected the SOS from the waves with his body, making Gintoki and Shinpachi furious. They talked about their situation and made three groups. Hasegawa and Otae were in charge of cooking. Hasegawa caught lots of fishes and Otae burned his sunglasses to start a fire. Hasegawa and Otae came and they entered into the cave. The skeleton was Kamenashi’s wife. Through tv, they saw the people in Edo getting old and Kamenashi explained that this is the work of Otohima and stated that they are the only ones that can stop her. Turtles appeared on the shore and attacked them. They tried to hold on until Gintoki and Katsura comes back, however, they returned as old mans and the turtles caught them. In the prison, they started to talk about their strategies and Gintoki was watching sumo watches with Katsura. Kagura thought Gintoki was eating something and attacked him. Katsura got disturbed by the noise and stated that kids must stop playing with the mega drive and go outside. They all got annoyed by Katsura and Gintoki’s behaviours and some turtles appeared. They took Otae and left. The turtles took Otae to Otohime and she stated that Otae isn’t beautiful at all, making her go crazy and provoke Otohime to show her face. Because Otae insulted her, Otohime wanted to execute Otae. When Otae said to Otohime that she was ugly and didn't know what real beauty was moments before her execution, Otohime dropped her in a pool full of sharks. Kyuubei and Kagura then came to save Tae and freed her from the rope, they teamed up to kill the sharks as well as Otohime's subordinates. After that, Tae beat up the last guards protecting Otohime and finally continued beating Otohime up until she stopped her project. Their fight was interrupted by more subordinates surrounding Tae with their guns, buying Otohime enough time to let the poison spread inside her palace, letting everyone, including her own subordinates, age extremely fast. Gintoki and Katsura managed to activate the antidote and everyone in Edo got back to their old selves. Otohime lost and got stuck under the parts of the cannon that was destroyed. Otae and others saved her. Ghost Ryokan Arc As Tae and Kagura were the only ones who were unable to see the stands in the inn, they were unknowingly turned into stands themselves while cleaning themselves up in the hot spring, leaving it up to Gintoki alone to find a way out of the inn. Later on she was turned into an actual stand and joind her powers with Gintoki's to defeat Oiwa and her husband. Correspondence Arc Tae was worried about Shinpachi, who did not share the letter he received from a girl with his sister. As she didn't realize that Shinpachi locked himself up in his room to read the letters he received and thought that he was masturbating in his room, she asked Gintoki to talk to him. Character Poll Arc Being unhappy with her character poll ranking, Otae teamed up with Sarutobi, Kyubei, Kagura and Tsukuyo to get the top ranking and formed the Diamond Perfume to go against the higher ranked characters. During this Arc, Tae managed to sweep the Shinsengumi's Commander Kondo Isao out of the way and even managed to "absorb" the Vice-Commander Hijikata Toushirou for a short amount of time. The Diamond Perfume (including Tae herself), the Shinsengumi and Katsura Kotarou were defeated by Sadaharu and Elizabeth. Kabukicho Stray Cat Arc Tae and Kyuubei met Gintoki and Katsura while they were in their cat forms and gave them food. Though to Gintoki, Tae was more of an obstacle, as she prevented Kyuubei from giving them delicious meat and fed them her Tamagoyaki, as raw meat isn't healthy for cats. Santa Arc Tae played several roles in Kondou's, Kyuubei's, Sa-chan's, Gintoki's and Umibouzu's santa scenarios. She played the role of Kagura's mother during Kondou's santa scenatio, the role of every pedestrian during Kyuubei's santa scenatio, herself during Sa-chan's santa scenario and a schoolgirl during Gintoki's and Umibouzu's santa scenario. She also voted each santa's scenario, though instead of using signs with each santa's score, she used signs with death threats or compliments directed to herself. Timeskip Arc Two years later, Otae became Kondou Isao "wife", for paying up her up on rebuilding her father's dojo. She later appears to revealed that she was cheating on Kondou and "had a kid" with Hijikata. It was later that she having a kid with Hijikata and being Kondou's wife was proven to be fake, by being a victim of a virus. Kabukicho Four Devas Arc Tae gathered her co-cabaret girls and arrived to backup the fight with the Yorozuya against the Saigou Family & Dobunezumi group to protect their town. After successfully winning the Kabuki war, Otose and Saigou, who were impressed by her performance during the war, offered her to become one of the four Devas. Ever since Tae became a part of the new four Devas. It is hinted that Tae is meant to be the replacement for Kujaku Hime Kada, as her way of managing the Kabuki District is not all that different from the Peacock Princess Kada's. Just like Kada, Tae uses devious methods to harm the Yakuza lead by Kurogoma Katsuo, who does not approve of Tae being one of the four Devas. Love Choriss Arc Tae was worried about her brother because of his relationship with a digital girlfriend and therefore asked Gintoki for help. Vacation Arc Tae went on vacation along with the Yorozuya until she was disturbed by Shinsengumi, who accidentally caused the half-naked Shogun to land on Tae. Tae kicked both the Shogun and Kondou down, causing more trouble for the Shinsengumi who ruined her stay. Later on she was seen helping Gintoki and Hijikata who were both gliding down a snow hill without being able to stop. However, she, the Shinsengumi top three, the Yorozuya, Katsura and the Shogun were cought by an avalanche causing everyone to get lost in an uninhabited snow area. Tae teamed up with everyone to find the Shogun to prevent them all to be executed and helped searching for a safe place so that her group won't freeze to death. She departed from the group and found a cave. After discovering the cave, Tae realized it was inhabited by Chupacabra, though instead of trying to escape, she killed and cooked them. When she suggested to explore the cave even further and kill every Chupacabra inside, everyone else ran away from her, searching for a new hideout all over again. Scandal Arc Tae slept with Gintoki when he was drunk during a celebration. When Gintoki payed Tae a visit in the next morning and told her that he can't even remember the night, Tae punched him. To calm her down, Gintoki asked Tae to try starting a relationship with him. When Tae agreed to that, they lived together in a house in which Gintoki hid the other women he slept with (Tsukuyo, Yagyuu Kyuubei, Sarutobi Ayame and Otose) as well. The women, who were all in a relationship with Gintoki at that point finally met, but didn't know about each other's relationship with Gintoki. They all didn't name their partner so they didn't figure out that they were all in a relationship with the same man. They arranged a romantic date in the cinema, where everyone was supposed to appear along with his boyfriend. Hattori Zenzou provided Gintoki with dolls that looked exactly like him to date all women at once. As Gintoki failed to control his dolls properly, one doll kissed Tae. Tae, who thought that the doll was Gintoki, angrily tore the doll apart, trying to kill Gintoki for kissing her. When she finally realized where the real Gintoki was and what was going on, she beat Gintoki up along with the other women. Afterwards, Zenzou finally revealed his and the women's secret and told Gintoki that all of this was merely one big prank from the very start. Host Club Arc When Kyoushirou was about to lose his host club because of Madame Yagami's upcoming visit, every single host except for him quit. Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura tried to gather other people to support Kyoushirou and become Takagamahara hosts. Although Takamagahara only provided male hosts, the Yorozuya asked Tae, as her aggressive behavior makes her seem manly. After Tae beat Gintoki and Shinpachi up for implying that she's manly, Kyoushirou explained that she could be useful as she is the best female hostess and has a lot of experience as a hostess. She volunteered to be the waitress, though she behaved more like the boss of the Takagamahara and invited Tsukuyo and the Hyakka, Yagyuu Kyuubei and her subordinates and Saigou Tokumori and the Drag Queen Clubhouse. Later when Madame Yagami appeared, Tae was already drunk and kept drinking with the other girls, although she was an employee and not a guest. Kintama Arc Tae, who, like everyone else, forgot about Sakata Gintoki and could only remember Sakata Kintoki, was confronted with the existence of Gintoki. While Kintoki managed to convince everyone that Gintoki is merely a criminal who killed Tama, Tae was the only one to admit that she couldn't believe Kintoki's words and trusted Gintoki. She was also among the ones who remembered who Gintoki was before Kintoki's hypnosis wave was nullified. While Gintoki fought Kintoki along with the others, Tae teamed up with Shinpachi and Kagura to support him. When Kintoki was trapped in an illusion after being defeated, Tae and the Yorozuya appeared in his "nightmare". In this illusion, Tae played the role of a coach who caused Kintoki to lose his only chance to find his reincarnated girlfriend. Beam Sword Style Arc Tae wished for Obi Hajime to be Shimura Shinpachi's brother for just a little longer and begged Sakata Gintoki to wait before he kills Obi Hajime. Later on, Tae, Shimura Shinpachi and Kagura teamed up to support Gintoki in his fight against Obi Hajime. Tae was the witness of Shimura Shinpachi's and Obi Hajime's final fight. After Obi Hajime's death, Tae and her brother went on vacation to come to terms with Obi Hajime's death. After they returned, Tae visited Obi Hajime's grave to assure him that she and her brother are doing fine. Frozen Time Arc Dekoboko Arc Otae been save by Male Kyuubei but Otae did not switch her gender. Confessional Arc Soul Switch Arc Feigned Illness Arc Shogun Assassination Arc Farewell, Shinsengumi Arc HDZ48 Arc 'Gintama The Final Chapter : Be Forever Yoruzuya' In the second Gintama movie, Tae is shown after five years. Her hair color changed from brown to white due to an uncurable and deadly illness called "the White Plague". Tae refused to die before she didn't meet Sakata Gintoki one more time to say good bye. Sarutobi Ayame stated that not just Tae's physical condition, but also her will was weakened because of this illness, as Tae never took abuse from anyone before she was infected by the White Plague, but did nothing when she was abused by Ayame after being infected by it. She later died moments before Blight's death. After Gintoki figured out what the source of the White Plague was and manipulated the past war to prevent it from spreading, Tae, who was now in great health again, came back to life and took part in the war. During the war, she and Yagyuu Kyuubei fought Amantos to give Gintoki the a chance to reach Blight and end the war. Trivia *She was the only person during the Kintama arc who didn't feel hate toward Gintoki even when she believed the lie that he hurt Tama and she was the first person to start remembering Gintoki. *Gintoki is the first person Otae bows to during lesson 405. *The kanji character for her name which is 妙 means 'strange'. *Tae was born on Halloween. This might be an allusion to her scary demeanor. *It is believed that her personality and traits is based on Sakamoto Ryoma's Third older sister named Sakamoto Tome (坂本乙女) know as Otome (お乙女) by everyone, she always was described as being violent and angry towards Sakamoto during his childhood to get him prepared to be a strong samurai. *Though it is stated that, unlike the Shinsengumi, her character was not based on a historical figure, there are a few historical figures that Tae's character, story and combat-style could very well be based on. *Her favorite food is ice cream Haagen-Dazs. *Otae has the same cooking skill as Bianchi from Hitman Reborn. *Otae has the same voice actress as Kagome Higurashi from InuYasha, Milly Thompson from Trigun, Koala from ONE PIECE, Miho Amakata from Free! and Shihouin Yoruichi from Bleach. Battles Quotes * (To Shinpachi) "Does a child need a reason to protect what our parents loved?" * (To Shinpachi) "Shin-chan it's just like you said, nothing good will come by protecting this dojo, you only feel pain. But giving it up is also painful. Things that you can't take back are painful to keep or throw away. Since both ways are painful, I rather suffer protecting it." * (To Shinpachi) "But Shin-Chan, if there's a time where your friend takes the wrong road, at that time, even if it ruins your friendship you should stop him. THAT'S A TRUE SAMURAI FRIENDSHIP!" * (To Shinpachi) "Shin-chan, you're a lucky boy. That's because you have a goal to guide you through the darkness. The truly unfortunate are those who stand still without any sense of which direction to go. And it's hardest on the person who's running out in front, when he can't tell left from right. ...True, they aren't nice enough to slow down for you. They may take a lot of detours... but you believe that he's moving forward, right? You're very fortunate to have someone like that, Shin-chan. No matter how far he gets, you'll still be able to see him. As long as you keep moving, I can promise you that you'll be able to catch up. It only makes sense, since I will always be there to kick you along." * (To herself about Sakata Gintoki) "What a stupid man... But I understand him." * (To Yagyuu Kyuubei) "Kyu-chan... You are you. It doesn't matter whether you're a man or a woman. You'll always be my precious friend. So please... don't cry. And you dare to call yourself a samurai?" * (To Tomu) "Do you think your fake beliefs will work on us? We believe in something more certain, and that's friendship!" * (To Sakata Gintoki) "If 'sorry' was enough, we wouldn't have seppuku." * (To Sakata Gintoki) "Lower your sword. I beg you, Gin-san. Just give us a little more time. ...Please let him... be Shin-chan's big brother just a little longer." * (To Hijikata Toushirou) "So you intend to eliminate the woman who is the source of your boss's scandalous behaviour? I would expect no less from the demon vice-commander. You're used to doing dirty work after all. However, there's no point in worrying about the Shinsengumi at this point, since your Shinsengumi and everything else... will be absorbed by us!" * (To Otohime) "I'll say this straight from my heart. You're ugly. Your heart is truly laughably wretched." * (To Otohime) "You're not the only one... who ages with time. No matter how beautiful a person may be, they will still age and eventually die. But even so, even if appearances change, don't you believe that we have things in us that don't change? Even as our bodies crumble, even as the months and years take their toll... Don't you believe that we all have something that time can't spoil? Even if you cover us with winrkles, we won't lose to you. That's because we know what beauty truly is." * (To Dobunezumi gang) "It's not very nice of you to decide the fate of the Kabuki District on your own. This town doesn't belong to any of you. It belongs to us cabaret girls! The Jirocho gang and the Okama gang can bring it on. We'll show you how terrifying the Kabuki District truly is!" * (To Dobunezumi gang) "Who are you calling a regular cabaret girl? Get on your knees! I am the Queen of the Kabuki District!" * (To Obi Hajime) "Please watch us, Obi-one-niisama. The crybaby who always followed you around and I, who always admired your strength... have become much stronger after meeting everyone else. Strong enough to stop you." *(To Shinpachi) "Shin-chan, I was thinking that I couldn't go back anymore. Those days would never come back. That's what I thought. But it looks like... I can still smile." Gintama The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya * (To Tsukuyo, Sarutobi Ayame and Kyuubei) " Even when they're together, they avoid looking at each other. They know that seeing each other's sadness will just make them feel worse. Looking at each other brings back memories of the past... and memories of him. Honestly, what in the world is that idiot up to? If he doesn't come back soon, we're all going to drift apart. If he doesn't come back soon... I won't be able to say goodbye. I wish I could see it only one more time... The three of them, smiling together." * (To Gintoki) " Whether its a cursed past or a cursed future. We, the Yorozuya, will always be there." * (To Gintoki) "Haven't you been saved from hell yourself? You, Mr. Demon, who destroyed the entire world." References Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Female Characters Category:Orphans Category:Sadistic Type